What Do You Know for Sure?

Oprah was once stumped by this question in an interview - and was embarassed that she was stumped. So she started working on it, and now--presumably--she knows. She also asks everyone she interviews.

She's not about to interview me, but it is a question I've been working to answer my whole life. Thankfully, God seems to have been working even harder to help me answer it. As I wrote in "Belief Creep," I'd gotten a bit lazy on the subject in recent years. But the last month has been really exciting.

As usual, God has been faithful to provide exactly what I need when I need it (whether I knew it or not). He's given me The Reason for God, Breaking Free, What's a Christian to Do with Harry Potter?, Romans, and 1 Samuel 1-3. I've had doubts, and he brought Tim Keller to my church. I've been complacent, and he brought Paige Benton Brown to my church. I've been confused, and he brought Dave Filson to my church. (Notice a trend?) Through my mentor and Bible study and radio and mother and husband... I've been amazed at the countless ways God keeps up the conversation.

And that conversation has reminded me of a few of the things I know for sure:

1. I don't like who I am when I'm distant from God (and trust me, neither do you).
2. My family and church community draw me closer to God.
3. I cannot be close to God if I'm not spending time alone in the Bible.
4. The Bible answers more questions than it raises.

These are not the things I set out to find, mind you. I was looking for whether hell is a literal lake of fire. But I'm seeing that there are layers of growth that have to happen before I'll be ready for that answer, if I even need that answer when I get to that point.